


Under My Control

by stockholmsophia



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Boss/Employee Relationship, Business Trip, Dominant Kylo Ren, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Hux is a Creep, Kylo is kind of a dick, More tags to be added, Office Sex, Praise Kink, Slow Burn, Submissive Reader, as i figure out where this story is going, but don't worry he gets better, that's all i know for sure, there will be a lot of smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-10-01 04:39:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17237594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stockholmsophia/pseuds/stockholmsophia
Summary: You're the new editor for First Order Magazine, and you're just a little too eager to please your demanding boss, Kylo Ren. What could possibly go wrong?





	1. Chapter 1

The wind whipped around you as you rushed towards the entrance of the office building. Flustered, you balanced a box of desk items in one hand while pulling the heavy door open with the other. You brushed your hair out of your face and took in your surroundings with wide eyes. The lobby around you was massive, about three stories tall and made almost completely of glass. This company never failed amaze you and despite this being your fifth time in the building, you were still enamored with the wealth and luxury it entailed.

It was the first day at your job. You were the brand new editor at First Order Magazine, a corporation that reviewed new tech gadgets before consumers got the chance to test them out. You were essentially fresh out of college; you only had a brief internship under your belt before you had landed your dream job. Now you were here and your heart was pounding due to nerves and excitement.

Your heels clicked across the floor as you aimed for the elevators. You gave security and the front desk a brief smile and pressed the button to beam you up to the start of something new. You hoped to God that this would be your big break, as you'd worked your whole life to be in a place like this. 

The elevator soon arrived and you stepped inside, pressing the button for the 42nd floor and taking a deep breath. This was it, what you had been anticipating for the past month. The interview for the position had gone better than you could have imagined and now you were about to meet your new coworkers for the first time. Not to mention your boss, who you already knew you would be desperate to impress. You could only hope they were as easy to please as your last employer. 

The metal doors slid open and you stepped into the threshold of the office. The receptionist's station was a few paces in front of you and you stopped before it, waiting for the woman seated behind it to notice your presence. She jumped as she saw you for the first time, clutching at her heart and giggling loudly. 

"Oh! You scared me!" Her voice was high pitched and lighthearted. Her big brown eyes gazed up at you as if waiting for you to enlighten her. "Can I help you?"

You introduced yourself and she stood up to lead you to your office. "I'm Ellie," she said. "Everyone's been so excited to meet you! Ever since our last editor was, um, let go, the anticipation has been killing us. I'm so excited to get to know you! I can already tell we're going to be best friends."

"Definitely," you responded, mostly just trying to get the girl to calm down. At least one person here was eager to be your friend. Ellie took you down numerous hallways lined with meeting rooms and offices before stopping at a door with your name on it. Your heart skipped with pride at the sight. 

"So this is your office! Feel free to decorate it however you like. Just don't let Mr. Ren see anything too crazy." She whispered the last part and leaned in close to you as if divulging a secret.

"Mr. Ren?" You asked. "Is he the maintenance worker or something?"

Ellie playfully hit your arm. "No, silly! He's your boss. Kylo Ren."

Kylo Ren. That sounded like a pretty powerful name. You wondered what he was like. He was probably just some old grandpa that would let the office run itself and leave you alone. At least then you wouldn't make a fool of yourself trying to impress him.

"Kylo Ren," you repeated slowly. "What's he like?"

Ellie smirked and raised her eyebrows. "To be honest, he's, like, totally hot. But he's such a jerk, so his good looks are just a waste."

Great, your boss was a hot asshole. Any dreams of ascending the ranks to the top of the company were squashed in an instant. Oh well. At least he would be pretty to look at.

Sighing, you thanked Ellie for everything and turned to open your door. Before she left to return to her post, she cheerfully gave a quick reminder. "The morning briefing is in fifteen minutes in conference room 4238. Don't be late!"

With that she departed and you were left alone to take in your new space. You eagerly pushed open the door and walked into your new office. Your mouth practically dropped at the sight of it. There were floor to ceiling windows that let in spectacular natural light over a huge mahogany desk. An incredibly comfortable looking spinning chair sat behind it, facing a large Mac monitor. Tall bookshelves lined the walls and you even had two chairs on the other side of your desk for meetings. It was everything you could have dreamed of and more. A smile broke onto your face and you placed your box down on the desk. You could not wait to make this place your own. 

The next ten minutes were spent unpacking what you had brought and, though you would never admit it, spinning around in your luxurious chair. Not wanting to make a bad first impression, you smoothed out your outfit and found your way to the conference room. You walked in and took a seat at the long table. A few of your coworkers were already there and some offered you a smile while others didn't acknowledge your existence. You pulled out a pen and nervously chewed on your lip as the remaining seats filled up around you. Mindless chatter flowed through the room and your eyes fell on the clock, watching as the minute hand ticked to 9:15.

The room fell silent as your new boss walked in precisely on time. Your breath caught in your throat as you got your first look at him. Ellie had been right; he was hot. He was incredibly tall, with strong muscles bulging at his sleeves and pure power emanating from his figure. Your eyes fell on his face and your heart skipped a beat. He had soft pink lips and a strong nose that drew attention to his fierce eyes. His black hair flowed in waves and your mind suddenly flashed to an image of your fingers tangled within it, pulling tightly in a shared moment of ecstasy. Heat pooled in between your legs and you shifted in discomfort and shame. What the hell was wrong with you? You needed to pull it together, and fast. Now was not the time to be having strange sexual fantasies about your boss. 

Kylo Ren took a seat at the head of the table, his eyes scanning the faces in the room before landing on you. You swallowed and tried to keep your facial expression at least somewhat positive and not show that you were absolutely terrified. Against your will your cheeks flushed as he continued to stare at you. His gaze was unwavering even when he spoke. "Goodmorning."

Everyone at the table gave a quiet greeting to him and you sighed in relief as his eyes left yours. God, he was intense, not to mention hot as hell. This was going to get messy if you didn't collect yourself.

"What has everyone got?"

Your peers immediately began throwing ideas onto the table for products to review. Despite your internship experience, you felt overwhelmed by the amount of chaos going on. These people were working fast and the information was a lot to take in. You watched as an outsider and tried your hardest to follow what was happening.

"What about you?"

Your eyes snapped up to your boss. Kylo was looking directly at you, as were the rest of the people in the room. Your cheeks flushed once more. "Me?"

He nodded curtly. "Yes, you." He didn't seem like he would be going easy on you at all and the thought was intimidating. "Do you have any ideas for the next edition?"

You could practically hear blood rushing to heat up your face. Why were you so nervous and unable to think under his watch? "Oh, um, I'm sorry, I don't. I wasn't sure what you expected from me," you stuttered out stupidly.

Kylo blinked. "Then why are you working here?"

The silence in the room was suffocating. Your chest constricted as air failed to reach your lungs. What was happening?

"I-I'm sorry, sir, I should have been more prepared," you stumbled out. Every eye was still trained on you.

Kylo sighed in annoyance and looked at the man sitting to your right. "Finn, will you fill her in on how to do her fucking job?"

"Yes, of course," the man said. You could not believe what you were hearing. 

"Good," Kylo spat bitterly. "I don't want anyone as incompetent as her hanging around unsupervised." Your jaw dropped and you quickly shut your mouth to hold back the strangled sob that threatened to spill from your lips. "Teach her how to not be so useless. Everyone else, get to work." 

With that he stood from the table and strode out the door without looking back. The rest of the people followed and you sat motionless, absolutely petrified in your seat. Finn, the poor guy who had been tasked with babysitting you, still sat next to you. He turned and smiled gently. "Hi, I'm Finn," he said as he reached out to shake your hand. You introduced yourself and tried to calm down, willing away the tears that were threatening to form.

"Sorry about him, he gets a little grumpy in the morning," Finn joked.

You shook your head in disbelief. "No, it's fine. I should have been ready. It's my fault."

Finn chuckled and took a sip from his coffee mug. "Don't beat yourself up over it. Kylo is pretty nasty at first, but he gets better after a couple months. Trust me."

A couple months? How were you going to handle whatever type of verbal humiliation he was doing for that long? You forced out a laugh. "Great! I'm pretty sure he hates me already."

"Don't worry, it's not just you," Finn brushed off your response. He got up from his chair and motioned for you to follow him. He lead you out of the room and into what you assumed was his office, shutting the door behind him. You timidly took a seat at one of the chairs in front of his desk as he settled into his own chair. "I know this seems like it's the worst place already, but I promise you're going to love working here."

You doubted that. Even though Finn and Ellie seemed nice, you naturally craved validation from your superiors. It sure didn't seem like Kylo Ren was the type of boss to go around handing out compliments left and right. "I'm sure I will," you lied and plastered a smile on your face. 

Finn quickly gave you the rundown of how the office ran, what your duties were, and how to stay out of Kylo's way. "Make sure you always do your work perfectly and to the best of your ability. The one thing he hates most is weakness."

After Finn's briefing you almost ran back to your office. Less than an hour into your first shift and things had already gone to shit. You managed to shut the door behind you before you pressed your back against it, shutting your eyes tightly and breathing in deeply. You were not going to cry on your first day. Like Finn said, Kylo Ren hated weakness. You weren't going to give him the satisfaction of showing how he truly made you feel. You took a few seconds to compose yourself before sitting down and shaking the computer mouse to wake up the monitor. The articles you'd been forwarded to edit and review were already piling up in your inbox. With a sigh you clicked on the first one, already dreading sending them to Kylo once you were done.

Hours flew by and before you knew it lunch had rolled around. You debated staying in the safety of your office and eating alone but you didn't want to grant Kylo the gratification that he'd already broken you. You grabbed your lunch from under the desk and headed for the breakroom. Almost every office you passed by was empty, signifying that everyone was already eating. As soon as you walked in you struggled to ignore the dozens of eyes on you. Your pulse raced as you took a seat at the table where Finn and another woman were sitting. The pair stopped their conversation and gave you sympathetic smiles as soon as you sat down.

"Hi," you said shyly and introduced yourself to the woman.

"It's so nice to meet you! I'm Rose," she exclaimed. Her wide smile and comforting presence had you feeling more at ease already. 

"How has your day been so far?" Finn inquired.

"Good!" You said a little too enthusiastically. "I definitely feel like I'm getting used to how everything works around here."

"Sorry about how mean Kylo was this morning," Rose said quietly as she glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "He's kind of an asshole. But don't tell him I said that!"

You laughed. "Don't worry, I won't tell him. And yeah, I guess I found that out the hard way."

Rose and Finn seemed to be taking to you pretty easily, though you weren't sure if they really liked you or they felt obligated to be nice to the new girl. To be honest it didn't matter to you at this point; you would take whatever kindness you could get.

"Do you have any plans for this weekend? We're going to a concert Saturday night and it would be cool if you could come," Rose said.

"That would be awesome! I would love to," you responded. You felt a surge of relief. They must like you if they wanted to hang out outside of work, right? The three of you spent the next few minutes making plans for the concert and bonding over your shared music tastes. A genuine smile had finally appeared on your face but was wiped away all too soon. 

Your stomach turned over as Kylo walked into the breakroom. He seemed to ignore the conversations going on around him, focusing instead on digging through the fridge to find something. You watched him out of the corner of your eye, still trying to carry on your conversation. Your heart fell to the ground when you narrowly avoided making eye contact with him over the fridge door. You barely managed to look away in time and pretended to laugh along with Finn at whatever story Rose had just told.

Your mouth ran dry when you noticed Kylo sauntering over to your lunch table. Rose trailed off as he drew near and glared down at you from above. 

"You. Come to my office after lunch."

He turned around and left like nothing had happened. You swallowed thickly and looked between Finn and Rose who were anxiously staring at you.

"Uh oh," Rose whispered.

"Oh God, I'm going to be fired, aren't I?" You muttered, putting down your sandwich and suddenly feeling as though you were about to throw up.

"No, no, you don't know that!" Finn tried desperately to reassure you. "He probably just wants to, uh, talk about hours or something."

"Yeah, definitely," Rose said, though you could tell they were just trying to make you feel better. The lump in the back of your throat doubled in size and a headache began to creep into your brain.

You covered your face with your hands. "This is bad. No one is ever going to hire me again after I get fired on my first day!" 

"Don't say that!" Rose grabbed your hands and forced you to look at her. "You're going to be fine. You're going to go in there and no matter what happens, everything is going to be okay, okay? You've got this." She gave you an encouraging smile and your heart ached at her kindness. It was too bad your friendship was about to be cut short by your certain termination.

"Okay, okay," you sighed. "I guess I should go." You stood up to throw away the rest of your lunch and turned to say a final goodbye. "Thanks for everything."

Rose and Finn gave you supportive smiles and a thumbs up, though you could see the doubt behind their eyes. "Good luck!"

You left the breakroom somberly, slowly making your way through the halls in search of your soon to be former boss's office. After a few minutes you came to a stop in front of the door with KYLO REN on the plaque and braced yourself. You closed your eyes and knocked timidly on the door. A few seconds passed and you were about to knock again when you heard his deep voice from inside.

"Come in."


	2. Chapter 2

This was the end. Your life was basically about to be over. Everything you had ever worked for was going to be for nothing. All the hours you had spent agonizing over countless essays and elaborate theses was pointless. Every step you'd taken to further your career was about to be wiped away. There was no way you were making it out of this in one piece. And it was all thanks to one sexy son of a bitch named Kylo Ren. 

You fought back tears and entered the room you were about to be fired in. It took a second for your eyes to adjust to the light as you took in your surroundings. Kylo Ren's office was somewhat similar to yours, though it was about four times bigger and had a spectacular view of the city skyline. Numerous degrees, awards, and framed newspaper articles lined the walls and made you feel even more intimidated by the man sitting behind his desk, wordlessly pouring over a stack of papers. He didn't look up as you shut the door and approached him slowly.

"Sit," he commanded and finally looked up to meet your eyes. You obeyed and sat across from him, crossing your legs and nervously fidgeting with the hem of your skirt.

Up close he was even more handsome than you had realized. His hair looked unnaturally soft and you once again had the strange urge to tangle your fingers in it. His prominent nose gave him a strong profile and the light from the windows revealed the dark amber color of his eyes. You tried your hardest to remain calm under his sharp watch and waited for him to speak. The silence between the two of you was tense, at least on your end. Why wasn't he saying anything? Couldn't he just get this over with and fire you already? You were becoming more uncomfortable the longer he stared at you, still and silent as a predator stalking its prey.

"Sir, I'd like to apologize for earlier." Your own voice surprised you. "It was unprofessional of me to be so unprepared and I completely understand your decision."

Kylo leaned forward, scrutinizing you. "My decision?" His voice was low and quiet. Too soft for a man like him. "What decision do you think I've made?"

You furrowed your brow. "Well, I'm here because you're going to fire me, right?" This was getting awkward. Were you not about to be fired? Whatever was going on was too confusing for your exhausted mind.

Kylo continued to stare at you. "Where did you get that idea?" 

"Well, this morning you were pretty clear you didn't want me here, sir, and I-"

"Stop calling me sir," he interjected angrily, and you completely stopped breathing in wake of his sudden scolding. "Just call me Kylo. Please."

He sat back in his chair and ran a hand through his luscious hair. "Of course, sorry," you stammered. You sat up straighter and bit your lip. Now you were even more nervous from his outburst. Why was the word 'sir' so taboo to him?

Once again you found him staring at you and were unable to meet his eyes, instead looking down at your hands and waiting for the inevitable. When he finally spoke, it was with a much gentler voice than you'd heard before.

"I'm not going to fire you so stop worrying about that." 

Your eyes darted up to look at him in shock. What? He wasn't firing you? That was good at least, but what the hell were you doing here then? You felt like a grade schooler getting reprimanded by the principal. 

"I called you in here to apologize, actually," he began. "I was unprofessional earlier. I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that in front of everyone. I looked over the work you did today and was impressed, so... I'm sorry for how I acted."

This was a surprise. Your mouth fell open for a second before you shut it so you didn't look so stupid. "You have nothing to apologize for," you reassured him. "Really, it was my fault. But I appreciate it. Thank you."

Kylo was silent once more yet you were able to look at him this time, almost in wonder. Everything you had heard and seen involving this man was being disproved in the most unexpected way. 

"You still have a lot to learn," Kylo spoke softly. "And I'd like to show you... mentor you, if you will. You're young... so inexperienced and naive... I think I can teach you a few things you won't learn anywhere else." 

Something about his tone and the words he used sounded vaguely sexual. You brushed it off and smiled at him. "That would be amazing, sir- I mean, Kylo."

You could have sworn you saw a hint of a smirk pull at the corner of his lips. "Perfect," he said and stood up from his desk. You followed his lead and got up as well. "Come back to my office tomorrow after work and we'll begin."

He strode past you to open the door and the whiff you got of his cologne made your brain feel fuzzy with delight. You followed after and narrowly passed by him as he held the door open for you. "I'll be here. Thank you," you remarked and gave him a small smile. 

The door shut behind you and you let out a breath you hadn't realized had been trapped in your lungs. You weren't sure what you'd just agreed to. The fact that your seemingly mean boss wanted to mentor you was beyond unexpected. Instead of dread you felt excited and found yourself longing for his presence once more. Your mind was clouded with lust and your heart fluttered in anticipation. Your feelings surprised you and were quickly pushed to the side to return to work. You still had much to do to if you wanted to continue to impress Kylo. Praise was what you craved, and his was more than enough to leave you feeling some type of way. You just hoped you would hear more of it to satisfy your needs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter is a bit short but i'll be sure to update soon! thanks again for reading :) xxxxx


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning you showed up to the office with an air of confidence that you had greatly lacked the day before. You were eagerly waiting for the morning briefing to begin where you would be able to see not only Kylo but your new friends as well.

As 9:15 rolled around you went to the conference room and took your seat next to Finn. He looked at you with a shocked expression on his face, clearly surprised that you'd returned. Rose stared at you in awe from across the table. 

"You didn't get fired?!" She exclaimed with a massive smile on her face. 

You grinned back, truly happy to see her again. "Nope. I'm still here."

Finn's mouth was wide open. "What the hell did he call you in there for then?" 

Making sure no one else was listening, you leaned in closer to them. "It was the weirdest thing ever. He literally apologized to me for what happened and then told me he would mentor me."

The pair regarded you with looks of disbelief. "There is no way that Kylo Ren would ever apologize for anything," Finn stated.

"I'm serious, Finn! For real. I'm as shocked as you are."

Rose was still stunned. "Mentor you? He didn't offer to mentor me," she trailed off, looking somewhat hurt. "He must really like you."

"I'll find out after work today. He told me to come back to his office."

She shook her head. "That's so out of character for him. I can't wait to hear about this. Make sure you remember everything so you can tell us tomorrow!" She emphasized, but fell quiet as Kylo walked into the room. 

"Who has ideas?" Kylo sat down and asked. The meeting had begun. This time you felt way more relaxed and listened intently to what your coworkers were saying. 

About ten minutes into the briefing, you felt the burning sensation of someone looking at you and turned to find Kylo staring you down. You kept your newfound confidence and locked eyes with him. He suddenly cut off your coworker and addressed you directly. "Do you have anything for us?"

Everyone turned towards you as you wracked your brain for an idea. "I heard that AnakinTech put out a new drone if that's of interest to anyone."

Kylo scanned the room. "Poe, look into that if you get the chance." A man a few seats down nodded and scribbled down something on his notepad. Kylo caught your eye once more and gave you a look of approval. "Nice work."

Finn and Rose grinned at you as you felt a surge of pride. This was going so much better than yesterday, and you found yourself thinking about how you'd do anything to be praised by Kylo again. 

The meeting soon concluded and you resumed the work you'd been doing the day before. Precision was on the forefront of your mind. You needed to impress Kylo and you craved more compliments from him. The only thing you could think of all day was your private mentoring session after hours. It didn't help that Rose and Finn made it especially hard for you to forget about it at lunch. 

Time crawled by but eventually the end of the day came around. You packed up your things while you watched your coworkers tread past your room to the elevator. The less of them that were here meant you were even more alone with Kylo. Before heading to his office you stopped in the bathroom to freshen up and fix your makeup. You wanted to make the best impression possible on him, purely for professional reasons, obviously. 

You left the bathroom and hurried to his office. This was the moment you'd been waiting for all day. His office came into view and you shivered in excitement before knocking on the door three times. A brief pause passed before you heard him tell you to come in, and you obeyed, closing the door behind you and turning to see him at his desk. He looked a little more relaxed and disheveled than he had first thing this morning. You realized his shirt was somewhat untucked, his collar buttons were undone and his tie was a little looser. His sleeves were still rolled up to reveal his toned forearms that tensed and showed the strength of his muscles with every move he made. His eyes followed you across the room and you sat down at the same chair you had the day before and looked at him attentively. 

Kylo stared back at you, slowly twirling a pen between his deft fingers. They were so thick and long and you wondered how soft they would be against your skin, what it would feel like as they worked over your-

Your thoughts were cut off by Kylo saying your name. Your eyes instantly moved from his fingers to his face and your blush was unconcealable. It was as if he'd caught you in the middle of your daydream. "I'm glad you showed up."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, sir," you responded, forgetting his insistence on you only calling him by his name. 

A long sigh passed out of his nostrils and he leaned towards you across the desk. "How many times will I have to tell you that you can't call me sir yet?" 

A shiver crawled down your spine. You couldn't call him sir "yet"? What did he mean by that?

"I'm sorry. I totally forgot. It won't happen again."

"It better not." 

His low and slightly raspy voice caused a tingling sensation to spread through your body. You were sure your mind was playing tricks on you. It seemed as if there were sexual undertones to his words, a double meaning of sorts, which turned you on more than you could imagine. What was going on with you? You needed to pull yourself together. Whatever crush you had developed on your boss was clouding your judgement and you were definitely going to embarrass yourself if it were to continue. 

Kylo abruptly stood and strode over to a cabinet next to his desk. He pulled out a bottle of liquor and two glasses and filled each before handing one to you. Normally you didn't drink on the job, but it was technically after work and you were not going to say no to anything he asked you to do. You thanked him and took a sip. Warmth instantly unfurled through your chest and you felt slightly more relaxed. Kylo returned to his seat and took a long drink. He gazed out the window and your eyes followed. You silently took in the amazing view of the city, with its shimmering lights aglow as the setting sun cast shadows over the towering buildings. You were lost in thought and only came back at the sound of Kylo clearing his throat.

"I looked over your work from today," he began. The beat of your heart picked up in anticipation of his approval. "I'm still impressed, but you could use a lot of improvement. Your revisions are hardly helpful. You're too timid to rework the original articles and that cowardliness isn't helping you at all. I'm a bit disappointed in you. I expected more from you. Your last supervisor gave you a glowing recommendation, but I'm not seeing whatever he saw in you at all." 

The blood pounding in your ears partially muffled out his spiel. His criticism tore away at your confidence and completely crushed you in seconds. You held back the tears threatening to ruin your dignity and stared at him, unable to breathe or form any sort of response. His eyes bore into your skull with no hint of empathy in sight. This was not going the way you'd expected it would. You had poured your heart into your work all for him to wipe away everything you'd done. 

"Stop looking like you're going to cry," he stated. His lack of sympathy was unwavering and somewhat frightful. "I'm not saying your work was terrible. It was still better than any I've ever seen before. I'm just trying to help you succeed."

As if you were watching your body from the outside, you found yourself nodding and clearing your throat to respond. "Thank you. I'll do better next time. I promise."

Kylo ignored you and pulled up the articles you had revised on his computer. "You're too shy to rewrite the original articles. So many of them are terrible. Our team is in no way as competent as I would like them to be, but you already know that. Why are you so hesitant to redo their work?"

"I don't want anyone to be offended," you answered honestly. "I don't want to hurt their feelings."

He sighed in annoyance. "This job isn't about hurting feelings. The First Order's reputation is on the line. You're expected to do your job, not work based on your peers liking you or not. I suggest you take my advice and start doing what you were hired to do." 

You nodded eagerly. "Absolutely, I understand. I'll try harder. I won't let you down again." Despite your confident tone you still felt close to tears over his criticism.

"You're a talented editor," he spoke, his voice suddenly much softer than before. Compassion finally filled his eyes and you almost melted at how cute he looked. "I don't want you to doubt that. I'm impressed by you. Just start doing what I know you can do, okay?"

"Okay," you responded. At least his last point was a little reassuring. 

"Do you need a ride home?"

"What?" You weren't sure if you'd heard him correctly.

Amusement flashed across his face as he stood up and grabbed his jacket from the coat hanger near his desk. "Do you need a ride home? It's getting dark and I wouldn't want you getting hurt. It's dangerous out there."

You blinked a few times in a bit of a daze. "That's okay. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you."

Kylo squinted and pulled his coat on. "No, it's no trouble at all. You're coming with me."

This was clearly nonnegotiable. He took your coat from the chair and held it open for you to put on. You were a little unnerved by this turn of events but nevertheless turned your back to him and stuck your arms through the sleeves. You went to thank him but your voice caught in your throat as you felt him gently squeeze at your arms, as if he was making sure you were truly settled in. Goosebumps were sent flying across your skin and you found yourself turning to face him. Your nose was level with his chest and you looked up at him, suddenly all too aware of how close you were. His eyes stared down into yours over his prominent nose and his pink lips were just inches away. Startled, you backed up quickly and bumped into his desk, causing everything on it to rattle violently. 

"Oops! Sorry," you stammered nervously. A small smile pulled at his lips as he watched you make a fool of yourself. There was no way he didn't know how you felt about him now. Your flustered appearance and the fact that you acted like a dumbass around him were a dead giveaway. 

"Come on, let's get you home before you hurt yourself." His hand pressed against your back and he strode over to the door. You quickly followed him out of his office and struggled to keep up with his fast pace on your way to the elevator. Once inside the silence between you was overwhelming. Should you make smalltalk? God, you were so awkward around him.

The elevator dinged as you arrived at the parking garage and you followed him across the desolate lot to a sleek black sports car. Kylo silently opened the passenger door for you and you slid into the leather seat. Him being such a gentleman didn't help your crush from disappearing in the slightest. Kylo got into the driver's seat and turned the key. The deafening roar of the engine made if difficult for him to hear your address so you had to lean closer to him and practically shout in his ear. Before you knew it you were flying out of the garage onto the street. The lights and cars you passed became a total blur. Adrenaline rushed through you and you gazed at Kylo in awe. The pure power and masculinity he emitted was intoxicating and you found yourself more attracted to him by the second. 

"Do you like what you see?"

Whoops. You'd been staring at him for way too long. "I was just- I didn't think you'd be such a fast driver." Your lame attempt at a smooth recovery didn't fool either one of you. 

"What made you think that?"

"I don't know, you seem so... careful?"

He chuckled and adjusted the rearview mirror. "You have to live a little bit on the edge. The trick is not to get caught." He smirked and caught your eye for a second. 

You mulled over his words. "Don't get caught. Got it."

"Keep that in mind."

Kylo pulled over and put the car in park. You became excited in hopes that he was about to make a move, but disappointment soon took over when you realized you were just in front of your apartment building. A bit disheartened, you stepped out of his car onto the street. "Thanks for the ride," you said sincerely and smiled at him. He looked at you with an imperceptible expression on his face. 

"Anytime. I'll see you in the morning." With that he was off, his car soon a speeding black shadow in the distance. Whatever he was doing was turning you into putty in his hand. Why did he have such a strong effect on you? You needed to get yourself under control before you did something stupid to jeopardize your career. This little crush had to go away ASAP, before it was too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took me so long to update!! the new semester started and i've been sick but i'm getting back on track now with some new ideas for where this story is going. i have a feeling things are gonna start to heat up a bit between kylo and reader in the next few chapters ;););) thank you always for reading!!! i'll update again soon xxxxx


	4. Chapter 4

Although Kylo Ren had practically destroyed your self confidence in your abilities, the next day you were right back at it again. You had never worked with more precision in your life. By the time lunch came around you were already exhausted. You hadn't even noticed the time until you looked up when you heard a knock on the door.

"Wanna go out to lunch with me and Finn?" Rose popped her head into the room and asked with a cheery smile.

"Sure! Let me just finish up this last article," you said. You quickly sent another email to Kylo, hoping to God that it would meet his great expectations.

You and Rose chatted about the upcoming concert and random office drama as you wandered down to the lobby. Finn was waiting for you by the main door along with another man. You recognized him as Poe, the guy that Kylo had told to look into the drone you'd mentioned. 

"Is it okay with you if Poe comes with us?" Rose asked as you approached the pair.

"Yeah, that's no problem," you responded. You hadn't had the chance to meet him yet. Perhaps you'd get to talk to him about his new assignment.

You introduced yourself to Poe and he smiled at you. "It's nice to finally meet you! Finn's told me so much about you," he chuckled.

"Poe!" Finn exclaimed. "I haven't talked about her that much," he looked away in embarrassment.

"Aww, Finn, it's so cute that you talk about me," you teased and nudged him.

He laughed and turned to leave. "Oh, fuck off you two."

The three of you all followed Finn out the door and walked a few blocks away to a sushi restaurant. The waiter seated you at a table in the corner of the dimly lit dining room. You got to know Poe a little better as the waiter took your order and brought your drinks and sushi out. 

"I meant to tell you, I've been looking into the drone you mentioned in the meeting yesterday," Poe said while struggling with his chopsticks. "I really like it. We ordered one to test out and if all goes well I think Kylo will want to feature it in this month's edition."

Your eyes widened in astonishment. "Really?! That would be amazing!" Having something you suggested make it into the magazine would be a good way to gain some ground at the company. Not to mention the thought of Kylo liking your idea made butterflies flutter in your stomach.

"Yeah! I really think it'll make it," Poe shared in your enthusiasm. "And look, I know you got off to a rough start the other day but Kylo only hires the best of the best," he stated matter-of-factly. "You're clearly talented so you're gonna do great here."

"Wow, compliments from Poe? Should I be worried?" Finn teased. He looked fondly at the man sitting next to him and put a hand over his partner's.

"You have nothing to worry about," you laughed and watched as Poe reassuringly squeezed Finn's hand. 

"Aww! You guys are so cute," Rose gushed. She quickly turned her attention to you. "Do you have anyone special in your life?"

Serious relationships hadn't been a priority for you since high school. College and your job had always mattered the most. "Not really," you explained. "I've mainly been focusing on my career."

Rose nodded understandingly. "Well, now that you have a steady job, maybe you'll finally have some time for romance," she smiled and raised her eyebrows suggestively. 

"Is there anyone you think is cute in the office?" Finn jumped in.

You wondered if you should tell them about your crush on Kylo. They all seemed like genuinely kind people but you'd only known them for a few days. Plus, revealing that you had the hots for your boss was a risky move. What if Kylo found out? You'd die of embarrassment.

You were about to respond when you felt an odd sensation flow through your body. As if a psychic ability had overcome you, you felt the presence of someone familiar enter the restaurant. You turned to look at the door, where none other than Kylo had sauntered through. 

Speak of the devil.

He instantly saw you. Your lips parted in surprise as you watched him walk your way. His eyes didn't leave yours until he reached the table.

"Mind if I join you?"

You tried to conceal your anxiety as Rose eagerly told him to have a seat. Kylo grabbed a chair from an empty table and sat right next to you. Of course this was happening. 

You concentrated on keeping your breathing steady while everyone else engaged in conversation. You weren't paying attention at all, seeing as you were too distracted by Kylo being inches away from you. Watching his massive arms flex as he flipped through a menu definitely wasn't helping your lust diminish.

The waiter soon brought out a glass of water for Kylo and took his order. You were certain he could feel the nervous energy rippling through the air that originated from within your very core. Poe, Rose, and Finn were inattentive to your sudden change in mood, but you were all too aware of how Kylo glanced at you with a knowing smirk every few minutes. 

"How are you liking the office?" Kylo addressed you.

You tried to answer as nonchalantly as possible. "It's great! I love it so far. I definitely feel super fortunate to be working under such talented people."

"I feel lucky to have added such a skilled person to the team," Kylo said. His large hand moved under the table and rested on your bare thigh for a split second.

Color drained from your face and you looked to see if anyone else had noticed. They hadn't. 

You looked back at his hand that was now picking up the glass of water. He brought it to his mouth and took a sip, making his pink lips appear slick, shiny, and extremely kissable. He put his glass back down and glanced at the condensation left on his fingertips, and then at you.

You watched in a haze as he brought his hand under the table and returned it to your leg, only this time it was on the inside of your thigh. His two thick fingers slowly traced a wet line up your thigh and moved past the hem of your skirt. He stopped only once he was dangerously close to your aching clit. You longed for him to touch you but he quickly removed his hand and went back to conversing with the group as if nothing had happened. 

You took a well-deserved minute to compose yourself before you looked back at everyone. Poe and Finn seemed oblivious. Rose, however, squinted at you as if she knew something was up. Uh oh.

You did your best to give her an innocent smile and tried to tune into the conversation. It proved pointless since you were unable to focus on anything other than the feeling of Kylo's fingers inching closer and closer to the one place you were pretty sure was forbidden for your boss to go. Nevertheless, you found yourself insanely turned on and readier than ever for the afternoon's lesson. 

The rest of the meal passed without incident and you returned to the office without so much as another word from Kylo. Rose was still regarding you with suspicion that you brushed off. You would deal with her later. For now you needed time to process what happened.

You shut your office door behind you and collapsed into your chair. You were absolutely fucked now. Not only was that the weirdest thing ever, it was also the hottest thing you'd ever experienced. Something about the forbiddennness of the situation and the knowledge that you were in public was a turn on that you never knew you had. 

In spite of the facts you quickly turned to doubting your interpretation of events. That was sexual, right? Maybe he was just wiping his hand off.

No, you idiot, you thought. That was blatantly sexual. There was no other way to interpret it. You were certain that most bosses didn't secretly slide their wet fingers up the inside of all their employees' thighs at a table full of people. At least not your previous boss, though you shivered in disgust at the thought of anyone else doing that. But something about Kylo was different.

Did this mean he was interested in you? It seemed that he was, at least sexually. Despite your indignation for your feelings you knew that you wanted more than just sex from him. You didn't know why, but the thought of him caring for you made your heart ache for his affection.

Oh God, you'd been at First Order Magazine for less than a week and were already canoodling with the boss. This was a dangerous situation you were getting yourself into. Should you continue down this impermissible path? Probably not. But that wasn't going to stop you.


	5. Chapter 5

Your mind was too clouded with thoughts of Kylo to focus on work. Every article that you sent to him may as well have been edited by a toddler. You knew he wouldn't be pleased at the end of the day but you couldn't get what had happened at lunch out of your mind.

It felt as though your heart was about to jump out of your chest when the clock hit five. Time to go meet him.

"Shut the door," Kylo commanded as you entered his darkened office. He was facing away from you, standing near the window and staring pensively at the surrounding skyscrapers. "Sit down."

You obeyed his orders as always and took your seat. The only thing keeping you grounded was the ticking clock on the wall. Being this close to him had your body begging you to act on your intense lust and it was harder to control yourself each time you saw him. 

"Did you have a good time at lunch?"

You were glad he couldn't see your face. "Absolutely," you responded softly.

Kylo finally turned around and studied your expression. "I'm very glad to hear that." He went and sat behind his desk. "We'll have to do it again sometime."

You nodded in agreement. "I would like that." It wasn't clear whether he was referring to the sushi or his teasing, though you got the impression he wasn't talking about the food.

"Let's get started."

In all honesty you paid no attention to whatever he was saying. At least he seemed satisfied with your work so that was a plus. You could only think about his fingers on the inside of your thigh and how you wished he had moved them up just a little more.

"You seem a bit distracted," Kylo noted. His eyes twinkled with amusement. He knew.

"Sorry," you muttered and shifted in your chair to attempt to relieve the uncomfortable tension between your legs. "It's been a long day."

The tiniest smirk pulled at the corner of his lips. "I'm sure it has been." His eyes moved down your body before looking back at your face. "I'd like to show you something."

Your heart pounded even harder than before. What was he going to show you? His dick? You'd be more than okay with that, but at the moment you hoped it was what else he could do with his fingers.

"Come look at this," he said and motioned to something on his computer. 

You slowly stood and made your way to the other side of the desk on shaky legs. He rolled his chair back so you could lean down and get closer to the monitor. You were practically in between his legs and bent over his desk. If anyone were to walk in this would look beyond suspicious.

"What do you think of this design?"

A drafted version of First Order Magazine's monthly magazine cover was open on the computer. It looked fine to you but you weren't an expert in graphics.

"What do I think of it? I don't know, I'm not in the arts department," you said and turned to face him. Your leg accidentally knocked against his knee and you realized you were essentially trapped in between his legs. 

"That doesn't matter to me," Kylo reassured. His body was close enough to yours to feel the warmth coming from him. "I care about your opinion." His knee touched your leg once again but this time neither one of you moved away.

Your stomach leapt in appreciation. "Oh, thank you, that means a lot to me," you stammered. Any sort of positive feedback from him had you bumbling like an idiot in seconds.

"I hope you can tell by now that I don't dislike you," he smiled and pressed his knee a little harder against your bare leg.

"You don't dislike me? Wow, I feel so honored," you joked.

Kylo chuckled. "You could even say that I like you."

You gulped. You didn't know what to say. Before you knew what was happening, he stood, leaving you almost pressed up against him. His hand moved to your chin and he made you look into his eyes. He no longer looked amused, instead he seemed serious. Was he about to kiss you?

You were too startled to do anything when you felt him gently caress your cheek. His thumb trailed over your bottom lip as you stared up at him with wide eyes. He could definitely feel you melting against his touch. His brows furrowed slightly as he ran his thumb against your cheek once more before letting go and turning away.

"That's it for today." He went over to the coat hanger and pulled his jacket on. "You need to find your own ride home. And don't do anything stupid this weekend." Without even glancing your way he left the office and the door slammed shut behind him. 

The sudden silence in the room echoed in your ears. You still stood frozen behind his desk. Your mind was flying a million miles a minute trying to comprehend the situation. He'd touched your face and told you he liked you, but then just turned and left? Not to mention his departure was a bit rude. You shouldn't have expected him to drive you home again but the way he left was unsettling and cold.

Shaking your head, you gathered your things together and left for the weekend. Whatever happened would surely resolve itself Monday. You needed to forget about it for now so you didn't lose your mind.

*****

The next evening was the concert you'd been waiting for. You met Rose and Finn in front of the venue and made your way through the crowd inside to the bar. You were ready to finally let loose with your friends after a long week, though you needed to be careful what you said around them.

Rose and Finn sat next to you at the bar while the opening act warmed up the crowd. Soon enough Rose brought up the dreaded subject you were hoping she forgot.

"So, you never told us what's been going on with Kylo in these mentoring sessions," she prodded with a smug smile.

You sighed. "Nothing special. He just tells me how to work better." At least that wasn't a lie.

"What was going on under the table at lunch yesterday?"

"What do you mean?" You feigned innocence. There was no way you were admitting anything had happened especially after how he left things the day before.

Rose rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

"I seriously have no idea what you're talking about," you insisted and took a sip of your drink. You were going to need a lot of alcohol to get through the night if she didn't let this go.

"Is something going on between you and Kylo?" Finn asked.

"No!" You answered a little too loudly. "Just let it be."

Rose and Finn exchanged a look. "Okay..." Rose trailed off and turned to watch the band with Finn. 

Great. Now you were alienating your only friends at work. You tried to clear your mind of everything that was distracting you and watched the act on stage but all your thoughts circled back to Kylo. 'Don't do anything stupid this weekend?' What did that even mean? Why was he so caring but instantly turned cold after saying he liked you? And he said he liked you!

It took a few drinks but you were finally able to enjoy yourself once the main act came on. You managed to forget all about Kylo and have fun dancing and singing with Rose and Finn. It felt nice to focus on the music instead of how Kylo made you feel. You needed a break to take time for yourself. After work on Monday you would ask him what his problem was. For now this time was all for you.

What a fucking week.


	6. Chapter 6

Nearly three weeks had passed since you and Kylo had last spoken. He completely ignored you around the office and even sent an email to cancel your mentoring sessions until further notice. Only every few days you caught him looking at you during the morning briefings, but other than that, it was complete radio silence.

You had replayed your last interaction in your head a million times. You were certain you hadn't done anything wrong. He was the one who initiated everything and was making advances. If anything he was the one at fault. If you weren't so into him his actions could be taken as harassment, but both of you knew that you were more than okay with what was developing. At least you had been, before he decided to drop you out of the blue. 

On the bright side, your friendships with Rose, Poe and Finn had grown closer. Even they had initially noticed how cold Kylo was towards you but seemed to forget about it eventually. You almost had too. You hardly ever saw him except for in the morning. You'd grown to accept the fact that whatever had happened was in the past and probably wouldn't happen again whether you liked it or not. Now you'd be able to focus more on your work, which was what you should have been doing anyways. 

Today was the first time you were late for work and you were buzzing with nerves. The morning meeting had begun ten minutes ago and you knew Kylo wouldn't be pleased to see you arriving late. But who knew? Maybe he'd actually talk to you today, even if it was just about your poor time management skills.

You tried your hardest to sneak into the conference room unnoticed but the only remaining seat was right next to your boss. Wonderful.

You quietly settled into the chair and pretended to focus your attention on whatever some guy with red hair was saying down the table. You could feel Kylo staring at you but decided to ignore it. If he wasn't going to acknowledge you, why should you acknowledge him? Two could play at this game.

"Thank you, Hux," Kylo interrupted and the redhead stopped talking instantly. "I have some news."

This had worked to get your attention. "Resistance Technology is hosting a convention in Los Angeles and we've been invited to cover the event," Kylo said. "There will be a lot of vendors introducing new products so a few of you are coming with me."

A work trip with Kylo? That sounded like a mix between your wildest dream and worst nightmare. Too bad you couldn't go. You were just an editor, not a reporter.

Kylo announced five or six names before you heard him say yours. "You're coming with me," he spoke to you for the first time in weeks.

"Me? Why would you need me to go? I'm not-"

"Because I said so," he cut in angrily. "Don't ask questions."

You quickly shut up and listened to his instructions. "Our flight leaves at eight tonight. We'll meet at the terminal at seven. Ellie will give you your boarding passes. You're dismissed."

Kylo stood up and left along with most of the other people in the room. A few stayed behind as Ellie handed out your flight info and told you more about the convention. No one that you knew was going on the trip. You could only identify one person, that guy Hux that was talking earlier.

"I don't think we've met before," he said as he sidled up next to you and eagerly held out his hand. "I'm Armitage, but everyone calls me Hux."

"It's nice to meet you," you smiled back awkwardly. His hand was clammy and grasped yours for longer than you liked. Something about this guy gave you the creeps. 

"Are you excited about the trip?" He asked. Everyone else in the room had started to leave but Hux blocked your path to the door.

"Definitely! Excuse me though, I should get to work. It was nice to meet you," you said and brushed past him.

At the last second his hand curled around your wrist to stop you. "Don't be late. You know Kylo doesn't like that," he smirked and dropped your arm after a final possessive squeeze. 

You took the opportunity to get away and rushed back to your own office. What the fuck? You didn't know what was wrong with Hux but you decided not to let it bother you. A creepy coworker was not going to stop you from having a great time on this trip. You were going to L.A. for the first time and no one was going to ruin it for you. Not Hux, not Kylo, nobody. This was going to be fun no matter what. And if it wasn't, at least you were getting paid. 

You said your goodbyes to your friends at the end of the day and ran home to pack your bags. You were still a bit confused as to why Kylo insisted you needed to go since everyone just emailed you their articles. Perhaps it was a way to welcome you to the company or something. Whatever the reason, you weren't going to complain.

You arrived at the airport and made it through security just in time to find your coworkers waiting for their boarding call.

"There you are!" A voice that gave you the chills called out. Hux was grinning at you while the rest of the group looked on. "I've been waiting for you!"

He moved his bag from the seat nearest him to imply you should sit there. You caught Kylo's eye as you reluctantly sank down next to Hux. If you were right at reading his unpredictable emotions, Kylo was pissed off. You wondered if he was mad at you yet again.

"How've you been since this morning?" Hux asked as if you were old friends. If you were sitting next to him on the plane you were going to have to kill yourself. 

Before you got the chance to respond you were interrupted. "May I speak with you?" Kylo suddenly stood in front of you. His icy glare sent goosebumps racing across your skin. 

"Of course," you replied. Anything to get away from Hux. You left the group behind and followed Kylo around a corner, out of sight from everyone.

"I wasn't late, was I? We were supposed to meet at seven, right?" Had you misheard him? You braced yourself for another scolding but it never came.

Kylo sighed and looked down into your eyes. "Is he bothering you?"

"Who, Hux?" You asked and Kylo nodded slowly. "Not really, he's just being friendly or whatever," you trailed off. You didn't sound very convincing but you didn't want to get Hux in trouble. He was probably just trying to make you feel welcome. You didn't want to be a bitch and complain about him to the boss when he hadn't technically done anything wrong.

"Hey," Kylo said gently and lifted your chin with his fingers until you were looking into his eyes. His face was so close to yours that you could feel his warm breath fanning over your skin. "You know you can tell me the truth. I don't want him going near you. I don't want anyone to make you feel bad."

Your eyebrows narrowed. He didn't want anyone to make you feel bad? That's exactly what he'd been doing for weeks.

"I'm sure you don't," you retorted with a bit of sass.

It was Kylo's turn to furrow his brows. "What's with the attitude?"

"Seriously?" You scoffed. "You've ignored me for three weeks straight after... whatever, and I didn't even do anything!"

Now wasn't the time for a breakdown but you couldn't stop the pent-up anger from pouring out of you. "I don't know what your problem is but you need to stop taking it out on me," you spat. "You need to start acting like a decent human being and stop being such a fucking asshole to the people you claim to like." 

You were practically shaking with fury as Kylo stared speechlessly at you. With a final scowl you turned around and stomped back to your seat. Hux smiled as you sat down next to him but you pulled out your headphones so he wouldn't bother you.

It felt good to get that out, but as time went on, your anger began to dissipate and anxiety fully took over. You had just insulted your boss and had a mini temper tantrum in the middle of the airport. What were you thinking?! If you thought you were getting fired on your first day, you had no idea what was in store for you now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoops!!!! sorry for not updating and for this terrible short filler chapter but it only gets better from here! i promise ;) thanks for reading! xxxxx

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! this is my first work so any feedback is much appreciated !!! xxxxx


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